Private equity firm SK Capital Partners (New York City / USA; www.skcapitalpartners.com) has completed the previously announced acquisition of the integrated nylon business of Solutia (St. Louis, Missouri / USA; www.solutia.com) for USD 50m (EUR 35m) – see Plasteurope.com of 03.04.2009. Solutia had around USD1.8 bn in revenues in 2008. The business has been renamed Ascend Performance Materials (www.ascendmaterials.com). All 3,000 employees will be retained within the business.

Frederic Poses, former chairman and CEO of sanitary ware manufacturer American Standard and COO of Honeywell subsidiary AlliedSignal, will lead a management team. Timothy Strehl continues as president of the company. “We are attracted by the growth opportunities that exist within Ascend’s businesses, which have solid fundamentals, a strong customer base and talented people,” said Poses.

Jeffry Quinn, chairman, president, and CEO of Solutia said that the sale of the nylon operation, which was no longer considered part of the core business, completes the company’s transformation into a focused performance materials and speciality chemicals company. Solutia has received a 2% equity stake in the new company.